The Islanders return from their unplanned bye week now last in the eight-team East Division as they play the Penguins on Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum.
But that’s not how coach Barry Trotz wants his team to view the situation as it tries to snap an 0-3-2 skid. The Islanders' last game was a 4-3 overtime loss in Philadelphia on Sunday.
"Just get everything in small increments rather than thinking the big picture all the time," Trotz said after Friday’s practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. "Sometimes we look too far ahead and when you look too far ahead you run into obstacles you don’t see.